


The Calling Under the Breath

by Lil_Redhead



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: F/M, Slight Manga Spoilers, a wee bit sad in the beginning but it'll get happier, mild violence, oh also - akito fans im so sorry but this one is not for u, operation let kyoru be happy 2k20, operation save kyo 2k20
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24871801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Redhead/pseuds/Lil_Redhead
Summary: It's only a few days until graduation, and Tohru is determined to do whatever it takes to save Kyo from being locked up—even if it costs her everything.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	The Calling Under the Breath

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends!
> 
> This isn't my first time writing for this fandom, but it may as well be. I started this story in February of 2019, watched Episode 9 of the new series, and then knew I had to finish it. It's a bit late, though, so I didn't have a chance to edit it. I hope you enjoy!

Akito made her wait until after dusk. 

Tohru thought _that_ was the worst part. The hours of kneeling she could endure, but every minute that passed with her blank stare at the paneled wall was another minute that someone could be telling Kyo the truth. Alone in the silence, Tohru prayed and prayed that he wouldn’t find out what she’d come here to do today. 

After all, she’d come here to save him. 

“Tohru.” The voice was carried along the faint scent of tea, but she didn’t dare turn around. Behind her, she heard the clinking of china being set on the floor. 

“Yes, Hatori?” As the sound passed her lips, she felt the strain at her throat. When the doctor didn’t answer, she tilted her head, but adamantly kept her eyes forward. “Is something troubling you?” 

“I just wish you’d eat something. You’ve been kneeling here all day and -”

“You’re kind, but I want to be ready when Akito decides it’s time for us to talk. Besides, I’m not very hungry. I promise I’m alright, but thank you for worrying.” 

Hatori wasn’t convinced. His warm hand fell on her shoulder, and Tohru closed her eyes as the rain outside the window pattered against the roof. 

“It won’t work this way. Trust me, Miss Honda, take it from someone who has knelt in his exact spot. I waited and waited and waited, and when Akito finally saw me, it didn’t go like I had hoped. She’ll hurt you when you tell her what you’re here for. And what about Kyo?” 

A sharp pain tore through Tohru with a shudder at the name. 

“Please, don’t—” 

“No, you need to hear this. If something happens to you, and Kyo finds out it was for him, he won’t ever forgive himself. I know how this ends, but it doesn’t have to. You can go home now, pretend you were never here, enjoy your last few months with him.”

“It’s not enough.” 

“Think this through. The cat is allowed a companion. Maybe you can—” 

The words halted in Hatori’s throat when Tohru spun around to face him and looked into his stunned eyes with a gaze of fire. He wondered if he’d ever seen her so resolute, so brave. 

“I know the situation seems hopeless and impossible, and because of that, you’re content with finding a compromise. But I’m not! I won’t be able to live knowing that Kyo is locked away, kept from everything that’s good to him. From _me_! I won’t stop for anything, not even for you, Hatori!”

The fire extinguished out of her as soon as it came, dissipating away as her head drooped low onto her shoulders. Her knuckles turned the color of melting spring snow as they clutched at her skirt, distracting her from the ache in her knees. Something wet trailed down her cheek, salty when it hit her lip, though she couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears. Behind her, Hatori deflated. 

“If you don’t leave now, I won’t be able to stop what happens,” he murmured so softly that Tohru’s resolve nearly crumbled just a fraction. 

Then she remembered the empty room she had passed on the way here, with its barred windows and lightless corners, and she knew there would be no settling. She would continue to kneel in front of Akito’s door for as long as it took for the head of the household to listen, to change her mind. 

Suddenly, the door opened. The foggy haze over her thoughts sharpened as Akito’s shadowed den unfolded itself before her. Its violent aura oozed over the threshold, meeting Tohru where she knelt before it. She shivered, but slowly rose to her feet, saying nothing when Hatori came by her side to steady her. 

“It’s not too late,” he whispered, but Tohru shook her head. _It isn’t too late,_ she thought, _it isn’t too late to save Kyo. Just have to be strong for a bit longer._ But as soon as she took her first shaky steps into the room, her legs almost crumbled out from underneath her. 

There was Kyo, cowering in the corner, eyes wide like he’d witnessed a death. He was scared, Tohru realized— _terrified_ —but at what, she didn’t know. Her surprise at seeing him drained her courage. She turned away, knowing if she tried to smile, the effort would be pathetically futile. 

As she approached Akito, who waited at the head of the room, Kyo let out a tiny whimper. Still, Tohru balled her fists and took a deep breath. 

“Thank you for meeting with me today,” Tohru said, voice hoarse.

Akito’s head turned up from where she lounged against a pillow. The vicious smirk growing on her lips sent a sick feeling through Tohru. 

“I think you’ll find the pleasure is all mine,” came Akito’s biting reply. Just like that, Tohru’s voice disappeared. She gaped, trying to speak, but none of the words dared leave her lips. The silence sparked in displeasure across Akito’s expression. “You wanted to talk. So _talk.”_

Tohru jolted as if someone had slapped her. She should kneel, do _something_. But with the last of her strength, she wrangled her courage and forced herself to speak.

“I came to negotiate,” she spoke, gaining momentum and volume. 

“Pity. I only work in final offers.”

“Maybe this once you could make an exception. Hear what I have to say?” 

Akito’s eyes were black when they looked up at Tohru, but they were losing their effect against Tohru’s resolution. 

“Alright then,” Akito slurred. 

Tohru drew in a sharp breath. The entire room waited on baited breath, teetering on the edge of sanity and utter chaos. 

“What could I exchange for Kyo’s freedom?” 

Perhaps Akito had not expected Tohru to come out and say it. Her shoulders straightened. 

“ _What_?” she seethed between her teeth. 

“What do I have to give you to let Kyo be free? There has to be something. I- I’ll leave, or I’ll...I...You could have _me_ instead. Isn’t that what you wanted? To best me? Lock _me_ away! Just let him go!” 

Behind her, Kyo tried to rush forward, only to be held back by Shigure and Hatori. He shook in their grasp, half-desperate and half-tortured. “Tohru, _stop_!” 

_Slap!_ A hot sting landed on Tohru’s cheek that sent her crumpling to the floor. 

“I told you, _monster!_ One word out of you and _she’d_ be the one to pay.” 

Kyo forced his lips shut to swallow back the cry on his tongue. He let Hatori drag him back into the dark of the corner and struggled to stay upright. Their attention was fixed to the tense air that they didn’t hear the soft words Tohru uttered. 

“What did you say?” Akito murmured low, taking Tohru’s face in her thin fingers. 

“It’s a lie,” Tohru said louder. “You say you love them. You say they need you. But it’s a lie. This isn’t love. This _can’t_ be love.” 

Akito slashed at Tohru with another fierce slap. This time, Tohru was slower to raise herself up.

“You know nothing, you filthy outsider!” screamed Akito. The sound landed against Tohru’s heart, and her arm trembled as she struggled to keep herself upright. “You think just because you know our secret and I let you into this house, that you know everything. But you know _nothing_ and you are _nothing!_ What do you know about love?” 

“I love Kyo,” stated Tohru boldly, as if it was the easiest thing for her to say. “And that love won’t be beaten. You can cut me, insult me, and kick me around, but I won’t stop until you let him go.” 

“You’re so quick to be crushed.” 

“And you’re so quick to underestimate me.” Blood trickled down the side of Tohru’s mouth, but her power raged on. “I won’t let you hurt him anymore.” 

Akito raised another hand to beat against Tohru, who steadied herself against the blow, but paused before the strike could land. 

“This negotiation is over,” Akito seethed. “Your association with this family is _over_. Hatori, come here.” 

Tohru didn’t realize what was about to happen until an agonized gasp came from Kyo. 

Even though every muscle in her body throbbed and her eyes burned, she stepped back from Hatori and tried to run to Kyo. He stumbled forward, ready to catch her, but Hatori’s hands closed over her wrist. She spun around, aching and betrayed, but Hatori’s face was hard. She struggled against his grasp, but her strength was draining away, no match for his steadfast hold. Her eyes snapped up, hoping Kyo would come break her away, but Shigure had his surprisingly steady hold on him. 

Akito marched up to Tohru, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to the ground. Tohru crumpled into a heap with a cry, Hatori’s hands still tight against her wrists. He knelt in front of her. 

“Let me go, let me go!” But only one of Hatori’s hands lifted away. It hovered above her face, looming over her eyes and forehead. Tohru’s heart stopped. “Don’t do this. Don’t make me forget. _Please!_ ” 

“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt,” he whispered, but she shook her head. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to break out of his hold. “When it’s over, everything will be better.” 

Tohru spared one last look over her shoulder where Kyo was crumbling against Shigure’s arm. His horrified tears matched hers, raining down his face until each drop was another shot of pain through her heart. Hatori gently pushed her face to look at him. 

There was something in his eyes that Tohru couldn’t put a name to, something intense and specific. She expected to find pain, regret, or even an apology, but instead there was a message that she just couldn’t decipher. Then, his fingers were on her eyelids. She crumpled onto the ground and waited. 

And waited. 

Something collapsed on the floor behind her head, but all she could do was lay and try to make sense of the constancy in her mind. 

Her eyes were closed. Her memories were still intact. 

_How_?

“You’ve done this to yourself, you monster cat,” she heard Akito say nearby. “It’s over for you, too. Take him away to the cat’s room and leave him there.” 

Tohru sat up just in time to see Shigure place a hand on Kyo’s shoulder and guide him out of the room. Kyo went willing, his head bent low and his eyes dark and distant. Tohru wanted to yell for him to push Shigure away, that she still remembered, but something told her to hold her tongue. 

“Miss Tohru Honda, you have had quite the tumble!” 

Slowly, Tohru turned around and found Akito bending over to help her up. The head of the family was no longer violent and bloodthirsty, but unsettlingly charming. 

“You were just telling us about that landslide you were in, but I can see you might’ve hit your head harder than you thought. Can you remember anything?” 

Tohru glanced from Akito to Hatori, eyes and expression blank.

“No…Not much,” she said carefully. “I was talking to Mom before bed and I heard some rumbling. You said there was a landslide?” 

“Indeed, we have them quite often on these lands. It’s why we never built any houses in that sector. You couldn’t have known you were camping on private property.” 

Tohru was historically a bad actress, but manners were ingrained in bones. She could do this without being caught. She’d have to. Bowing low, she sealed the deal. 

“I had no idea I was trespassing on your land! Please forgive my intrusion. I never meant to cause you any trouble or become a burden on you. How kind you are to allow a stranger into your home. I will repay your hospitality in any way I can!” 

Akito was not fond of Tohru’s ramblings, but she believed them nonetheless. 

“It was no trouble at all,” Hatori replied. “We’ll be digging your belongings from the dirt in the morning. For now, why don’t I drive you home? You mentioned your grandfather?” 

“Well, yes, but...I had to leave home because of the repairs.” 

“We’ve called your grandfather,” Akito cut in. “It seems everything is all fixed up. It’s about time you left.” 

Tohru pretended not to think twice about the strain in Akito’s voice, nodding and bowing. 

And because she knew it was exactly what Akito wanted her to say, Tohru added, “I’m sorry to have interfered.” Then, as an afterthought, “With your evening, that is.” 

Then her and Hatori were clambering down the corridor, leaving a laughing Akito in their midst. They made their way to the family car, where Hatori clicked open the passenger door. 

Tohru stared dazedly down at the empty seat, eyes filling with more tears as the events processed through her mind. She could feel the memories becoming permanent. Akito’s hatred. Kyo’s cries. His tears. 

“Hatori,” she whispered. The man beside her froze. “Did you mean to do it?” The unspoken question was there— _Did you mean to let me keep my memories?_

A moment passed, until Tohru decided he hadn’t heard her and began to slip into the car. It was only when her seat belt was fastened around her shuttering frame that he filled the driver’s seat and plain as day said, “Yes.” 

“And Kyo’s really going to be locked away immediately? He won’t get to graduate?” 

No hesitation this time. “Yes.” 

“And it’s all my fault.” She wasn’t asking. 

Hatori turned the keys in the ignition, anxious to get her off of the family grounds before someone could find out what he’d done or ask the wrong question. 

“It was going to happen no matter what you did. Kyo knows you love him now. That has to count for something.” 

Tohru placed her forehead on the cool glass of the window and shook her head.

“What good is love if it couldn’t save him?” 

Hatori adjusted the rear view mirror, cautiously glancing around. As they drove off of the family grounds, they both heaved a sigh of relief. 

“It might just save him yet. I’m inclined to believe it already has.” 

Tohru understood his meaning perfectly. Her first plan may have failed, but now the advantage was hers. She could still save Kyo yet, and she would stop at nothing until she did.


End file.
